Science Experiments that Scream Summer

Summer brings with it quite a few nice things – warmth, colors, fruits, holidays, ice creams, field trips and more. How about paying a fitting tribute to the king of all seasons with all things that scream of the season! Go out in the sun, play with everything that’s summery and get downright messy while dabbling in sciences while summer’s on. Check out these cool science experiments that are oh-so-characteristic of summer.

Icy CoolWhat is a better way to enjoy summer than with a nice, cold science experiment! Easy and simple to set up, you’ll want an encore of this experiment.Supplies• A bowl• Ice cubes• A string• A cup of salt

Directions• Keep a cube of ice in the bowl and fill it up with water. Does the ice cube float up?• Next, lower a string into the bowl to touch the surface of the ice. Now try pulling the string towards you and see if the ice also gets pulled with the string. It doesn’t, does it?• Now, repeat the process but with a twist! Hold the string on the ice cube and sprinkle a generous amount of salt on it and wait for a few seconds. Pull it again. Doesn’t the string stick to the ice cube and pull it along with itself?• Salt lowers the freezing point of water. The part of the ice cube where you poured salt melted the ice cube. However, it refroze quickly around the string. This is the secret why your ice cube and string stuck together! It wasn’t love at second sight!

Rainbow SnakesSummer’s incomplete without rainbows. Sudden showers form rainbows that add oodles of charm to the essence of the season. Here’s a way to make rainbow snakes to pay tribute to summer! One word of caution: it’s better if you head out to conduct this science experiment as it can get very messy!

Directions• Cut off the bottom of the bottle with the help of scissors/knife. Ask an adult to help you if you find the plastic too hard to cut through.• Slide the sock over the bottom of the bottle and hold it firmly with duct tape or a rubber band.• Fun begins now! Mix liquid soap and water in a large tub in your backyard. • Pour a drop of each food coloring on the sock and dip the sock covered bubble blower into the tub and gently blow.• Make sure you blow out and not in because you’ll end up eating some of the soapy bubbles that way and it will be the end of the fun science activity.

Lemony ScienceThinking of summers, lemonades are the top thing in our minds. Why don’t we do this fun, learning science experiment with juicy lemons that are so summery!

Directions• Mix warm water with soap in a small bowl. Add food coloring.• If you see suds forming in the water, it’s time to add a scoop of baking soda and lemon juice.• Go on mixing more lemon juice (you can use citric acid also) to form thicker and bigger foam.• Dig into the fluffy foams and go berserk; it’s summer after all! Does the foam feel cold?• Baking soda reacted with lemon juice and released carbon-dioxide. Such a reaction absorbs heat (also called an endothermic reaction) and therefore the foam was cool to touch!